Two killed as huge waves hit oil tanker

Two crewmen were killed and another seriously injured yesterday after their oil tanker was hit by huge waves in the Pentland Firth, one of the world's most notorious stretches of water.

The men were believed to have been standing on the deck of the 42,000-tonne tanker when it was caught in a gale force eight storm and buffeted by waves over 20 feet high. The ship, the FR8 Venture, contacted Shetland coastguard shortly after midday. 'The ship may have got hit by a freak wave.' said the coastguard. 'As soon as the skipper realised the extent of the injuries he turned back to Scapa Flow.'

A coastguard rescue helicopter was scrambled from Stornoway to assist the vessel and the Longhope RNLI lifeboat was launched with a doctor on board.

The doctor was transferred on to the ship and subsequently reported the deaths of two of the crewmen to the mainland. The third injured crewman was flown to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. The nationality of the dead crew was not known last night.

'The crew from the helicopter and the lifeboat were working in extreme weather conditions to save the life of the third crewman, who has sustained serious injuries,' said Neil Cummins, the watch manager at Shetland coastguard.

The Singapore-registered tanker, which was carrying 75,000 tonnes of crude oil and is believed to have had over 20 crew on board, had loaded crude oil at Scapa Flow terminal in Orkney and was bound for Houston, Texas.

The FR8 Venture is owned by FR8 Ship Management based in Singapore and is less than a year old.

The Pentland Firth lies between the northern Scottish mainland and the islands of Orkney and has a well-deserved reputation among the world's mariners as a channel to be navigated with great care.